Whether they’re reversing in Rhyl or parallel parking in Prestatyn, Welsh drivers are officially the safest and most accurate in the UK, according to a new survey carried out by Nissan. The brand asked 9,177 motorists in Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the UK to review their parking performance over the past five years and confess to any parking misdemeanours.

The results showed that drivers in Wales recorded the fewest number of bumps, scrapes and prangs while parking, with just 1% of respondents admitting to having had a parking accident. By contrast, Scottish drivers revealed themselves to be the least conscientious in the UK with 6% confessing to a parking accident in the last five years.

UK drivers named the neatest parkers

While Welsh drivers topped the UK rankings for parking perfection, UK motorists have been revealed as the neatest and least prang-prone in Europe. Drivers in Italy, Spain, Germany and France all admitted to more accidents than British drivers in the past five years.

Italian drivers were the most accident-prone with one in two admitting to damaging their cars over the same period – 26% of them doing so while attempting a parking manoeuvre. By contrast, British drivers were the most cautious, with just 10% reporting a parking-related incident.

In four out of five of the nations surveyed, reversing proved the most challenging manoeuvre, with the tricky task accounting for 45% of all parking bumps; in Italy a staggering 51% of bumps were caused while in reverse.